The panel identified the underlying beliefs of a perpetrator, which include needing the older person's money to feed an addiction or taking an early inheritance because the old person is at the end of their life.
“We hear things like, ‘They have more money than they can spend the rest of their life’ and ‘Mom or Dad abused me as a child so this is payback’ or ‘Driving them to church, the senior center, shopping is a huge waste of time.’”
Mason launched S.E.A.M. in order to overcome the abuse that occurs to some retirees as a result of a scammer’s sense of entitlement or ageist attitude.
“Our program is one option to prevent further abuse in cases that are difficult to prosecute by inserting ourselves as mediator between the court, the elderly person and the perpetrator,” Mason told Financial Advisor magazine.